


Not All Heroes Wear Capes

by TheTokenAro



Series: We’re on the Edge of Greatness [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Add more tags as I think of them, Adora (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Adora and Scorpia are Bros, Alternate Universe - Adora Remains with the Horde (She-Ra), Alternate Universe - Catra is She-Ra, Catra "How dare you infect me with morals" Applesauce, Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Catra (She-Ra) Redemption, Dialogue Heavy, F/F, Glimmer and Catra are feral, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Light Angst, Lighthearted, Mostly Canon Compliant, Season 1, Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner's A+ Parenting, Slow Updates, Tags Are Hard, headcanons
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-24 00:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30064161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTokenAro/pseuds/TheTokenAro
Summary: Deep in the Whispering Woods, centuries ago, a sword was damaged. And a spirit began to slip through the cracks.It wasn’t free, not quite. Still tied to the prison they created.The two who would make history came to the world. It knew which one she wanted. But it had a choice now.So it made one.
Relationships: Adora & Scorpia (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow & Catra (She-Ra), Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra)
Series: We’re on the Edge of Greatness [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2211792
Comments: 8
Kudos: 24





	1. Cover

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [This Is My Kingdom Come](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25321057) by [catrasredemption (dimensionhoppingrose)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dimensionhoppingrose/pseuds/catrasredemption). 
  * Inspired by [You Came Back (For Me?)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19384678) by [genVicron](https://archiveofourown.org/users/genVicron/pseuds/genVicron). 



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally figured it out and got the picture up! I put so much effort into this. Also my gosh is it hard to draw sword


	2. Curiosity Killed the Cat

Deep in the Whispering Woods, centuries ago, a sword was damaged. And a spirit began to slip through the cracks.

It wasn’t free, not quite. Still tied to the prison _they_ created.

The two who would make history came to the world. It knew which one _she_ wanted. But it had a choice now.

So it made one.

“I take it back, you’re officially awesome.”, Catra declared as they zoomed out of the Fright Zone, “I can’t believe you stole a skiff!”

“Borrowed.”, Adora corrected, “Please don’t make me regret this.”

It didn’t take long for them to start bickering over the steering shaft, swerving left and right. Catra didn’t even notice where they were heading until Adora shoved her out of the way and slowed them to a stop.

She glanced up to see a tangled forest. “This must be the Whispering Woods.”, Adora murmured, “They say there's horrible monsters in there a-and the trees move when you’re not looking.”

Catra looked into the dark woods, unknown creatures skittering about. She felt something pull at her core. A grin spread across her face.

“Let’s go in.” “What?”

She didn’t let Adora protest before she took back the shaft and sped right into the trees. She weaved through the trunks, Adora’s screams accompanying her laughter.

“Tree! Tree!” She didn’t move fast enough. The skiff slammed into the tree, sending her tumbling to the ground.

Her vision went black for a moment, then was replaced with the sight of the canopy. Groaning, she sat up, looking for the skiff.

It was nowhere in sight.

“Adora?”, she called out. No reply. Fear started to build in her. She should wait where she was. It’d be easier for Adora to find her. Unless she had been hurt in the crash worse than she was…

With that thought, she started frantically searching, straining to hear Adora amongst the wildlife. She spotted a light through the trees. Wondering if it was a signal or if she reached the edge of the forest, she rushed towards it.

She pushed the brush out of the way, only to be met with a glowing sword, a cracked, blue gem on the hilt.

The glow entranced her, calling her forward. All thoughts of panic and her friend became background noise in her mind as she moved towards it. When she gripped the handle, white enveloped her vision.

A figure stood in front of her, seemingly made of golden light. It held out a hand. She instinctively went to take it, but before she could, static filled her ears, a voice clipping through. “Bal...mus...be restored…..seek a hero...Ador….ora!”

The last part kept repeating, the word not fully coming in.

_Ad---a----Atr---Ca--ra_

_Catra_

“Catra!”

Her eyes flew open, nearly throwing Adora back as she shot up. “I--wh-what?”, she stammered.

“Are you alright?” Her head jerked up to Adora, her words quieting her scrambling thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”, she brushed off. Adora didn’t seem convinced. “You sure? You fell a long way.”

“I’m _fine_.”, she snapped, standing up, “Let’s just go back.”

They rode in silence, Catra ignoring the new feeling beneath her skin.

_Catra. Catra. Catra!_

She gasped, sitting upright, her fur bristling. Her eyes darted around the room, finding no source for the voice that was plaguing her.

Her breathing slowed, but her shoulders stayed stiff. She sat there for a minute, drinking in the quiet.

Then she got up.

It was stupid idea. The thought repeated in her head like a mantra even as she dug the keys out of Adora’s stuff.

There was no reason for her to be sneaking around in the docking bay. Still, she felt the skiff rumble to life beneath her feet.

The wind whipped in her hair as she shot straight towards the woods, this time landing just outside of it before continuing on foot. Despite all the life surrounding her, she still felt deafening silence. She mumbled to herself to fill the air.

“This is crazy. You're crazy. Who cares about a stupid sword anyway, it probably wasn’t even real. Just go home before you get yourself killed.”

Not even speaking the thoughts out loud stopped her from moving forward.

She kept pushing on until finally she came across the object that had sent her on this crazed trek.

There was no reason to feel a need for _that_ specific sword. But she did. She started towards it, then froze.

There were people close by. Very close by.

“Just let me lead the way, ok?” “The light’s coming from the east...”

Catra stumbled back, scrambling to look for a hiding place. How had they snuck up on her, _she_ was the one with superior hearing.

Before she could leap up a tree or something, the two people stepped into the clearing. They stalled, staring at her. Then the purple one shouted, “Horde Soldier!”

She dove for the sword, only for Purple to slam into her, throwing them to the side. Catra shoved her off and ran back.

But apparently Sparkles here could fucking _teleport_ and pulled the sword out of the roots, throwing it to Arrow who fumbled in catching it.

Catra rushed towards him, then yowled in pain as Sparkles jumped on her back and started pulling at her hair. She bucked her off and leapt onto Arrow, knocking them to the ground and the sword away.

Sparkles landed back on her, them both pinning her down. She reached for the sword, her fingertips brushing the handle.

Light shot out.

Catra blinked, finding herself in a crystalline area fading in and out of static. A voice rang out.

“Hello, Catra.”

Said girl jumped to her feet, turning to see a tall, blue woman. “My name is Light Hope.”, she continued, “I’ve been waiting a long time for someone to forge a connection with the sword.”

Catra was at a loss for words. “Wh--The sword?”

The woman seemed unbothered by her confusion. “Etheria is in need of you, Catra. Will you answer it’s call? Will you fight for the honor of Grayskull?”

She didn’t get a chance to reply before the world faded completely and she fell from it’s grasp.

She was once again met with the sight of indigo trees.

“She’s awake!” Catra winced at the exclamation, shoving Arrow out her face. It quickly became apparent she was tied up.

His face was soon replaced by Sparkles. “How did you make it this far into the Whispering Woods?”

“I walked in? It’s not that hard.” “Sure, sure, sure. You _just so happened_ to find yourself in the Whispering Woods, like you _just so happened_ to steal our sword.”

“If you care so much about it, why’d you leave it in the middle of the woods for anyone to take?”

Sparkles chose to ignore that perfectly valid point, and turned to Arrow. “Come on Bow, let’s take her back to Bright Moon where she can be interrogated properly.”

Arrow pulled her up and they started walking. Sparkles leaned closer to him. “This is perfect!”, she cheered in a whisper, “Not only did we find First Ones’ tech, we also have a Horde spy! Mom’s gonna be so impressed.”

Catra felt a sting of some emotion, but quickly stamped it down, trading it for a small laugh. “You’re doing all this to impress your mom?” Sparkles jumped, not expecting her to be listening. “Shut it, Horde Scum!”, she snapped.

Catra rolled her eyes and kept walking.

Now, from an outside view, she seemed pretty relaxed about the whole situation. Really, she was anything but.

Shadow Weaver was going to kill her. That bitch had been waiting for an excuse to get rid of her for years, sneaking out and getting captured by the rebellion would certainly be a viable one.

Even if her captors didn’t seem all that great at their job.

“Are you _sure_ we’re going the right way?” “It’s fine, ok? Just let me figure this out.”

Arrow fell in step with her. “Sorry about her, she’s usually nice.”

Catra didn’t reply.

“Not much for talking, huh?” “What, are your prisoners usually friendly.” He made a face. “Well, I’ve never actually taken anyone prisoner before.” “Clearly.”

They bumped into Sparkles, who was looking out at a ruin. Catra glanced over the buildings. Didn’t seem like anything special. Just a broken town.

“So, are we just standing here or...?” That appeared to be the wrong thing to say. Sparkles whipped around to face her, rage painted on her face.

“How _dare_ you! How can you just look at your destruction and act like it’s nothing?”

Catra glared back. “It’s a _war_ , princess. Something’s gonna get broken along the way.”

“And you don’t even care?” “It’s not my life, why should I?”

Glimmer’s look was murderous, but it didn’t deter Catra. She’d seen worse.

Arrow interrupted their deathly staring contest. “Ok, maybe we should go _around_ …”

Sparkles marched ahead of them, disappearing into the brush. A moment later, she came running back. “There’s something out there.”, she said, panic clear, “Something big.”

“How big?” His question was answered with a tremor and a giant bug monster emerging from the bushes with a screech. “Oh. So pretty big then.”

It brought one of its legs down, causing them to scatter. The sword was also dropped. Catra immediately grabbed and started running. She stopped when she heard yelling.

Glimmer was sending a barrage of magic blasts at the creature to no avail, the same going for Bow’s arrows. They were cornered.

Catra turned away again, getting only a few steps before she hesitated. With a curse, she ran back.

She launched herself at the monster, driving the sword into its head, then leaping back. Even that didn’t deter it, simply screeching once more and bringing a leg down on her. She held up the sword, straining to block.

The voice echoed in her head.

_Will you fight for the honor of Grayskull?_

With barely a second thought, she yelled, “For the Honor of Grayskull!”

The world went white.

  
  


“Uh, Glimmer…?” “Yeah, I see her, Bow.”

In the Horde soldier’s place was a glowing figure dressed almost completely in white and gold, blond hair flowing in a magical wind.

The bug creature relaxed in her light, almost seeming to kneel before her despite said girl stabbing it in the head moments ago.

Everything was still, until the soldier finally noticed her growth spurt.

She screamed, falling to the ground and transformation washing away. Glimmer immediately teleported over and tried to take the sword.

“What did you do to me?!”, the soldier screeched, refusing to give up the weapon. “What do you mean ‘what did I do to you’?”, Glimmer countered.

“You said it was _your_ sword, didn’t you?”

“Ok, everybody calm down!”, Bow yelled, getting in between their tugging match. He leaned towards the soldier. “Mind telling us what you did?”

“I don’t know what I did! All I did was pick up that sword and then boom! I’m in a tiara!”

“Who cares how she did it, we just have to make sure she never does it again!” With one final tug, she wretched the sword away from the soldier.

Not a moment after did the bug stand back up.

Much screaming later, they tumbled into a ruin. The door closed behind them, the bug thumping into it a few times. With one final screech, they were left in silence.

The group let out a collective sigh of relief.

“How’d you do that?”, Bow asked the soldier. “What?” “How’d you open the door?” She seemed confused by that. “I just...read the word that was written on it?”

“Right…”, Glimmer drawled, “You just read the writing of a language that’s been dead for thousands of years and led us into mysterious, ancient ruin.”

“Oh no, you figured it out. My master plan has been foiled.”, the soldier replied, her sarcasm almost painful.

Glimmer simply sent her another glare, then brushed past. “We need to start moving. The sooner we get out of here the better.”

Bow fell in step with the prisoner once again.

“Hey, so thanks for saving us from that bug thing when you could’ve escaped instead.”, he said, for some idiotic reason.

She could almost feel the soldier roll her eyes. “Yeah, well, it wouldn’t have taken long for it to pick off you two and come for me next.”

“Are you sure it’s not because you secretly like us?” The soldier laughed. “Is your plan to make me succumb to Stockholm Syndrome?” “What?”

After that was a moment of blissful silence. It didn’t last.

“I’m Bow by the way.” Glimmer would’ve argued that they shouldn’t share names, but they had been yelling them at each other the whole time.

The soldier took a moment to answer. “Catra.”

“I think we’re in a First One’s ruin.”, Glimmer interrupted a bit too loudly. “What’s that?”, Catra asked. Glimmer scoffed. “You’ve never heard of the First Ones?”

“The First Ones were the original settlers of Ethiera.”, Bow jumped to explain, “They left behind lots of old ruins and technology, like this place.”

“What happened to them?” “No one knows. They just disappeared one day. The Horde didn’t tell you about them?”

“There’s a lot the Horde doesn’t tell us.” A surprising amount of bitterness was laced in the statement.

They continued wandering for a while. They entered a big chamber and Glimmer let out a groan. “How do we get _out_ of here?”

“It’ll take forever to get out at this rate.”, Bow replied. He turned to Catra. “Mind turning on some lights?”

“I don’t know how to do that.” “Maybe there’s a magic word. What’s the First One’s word for lights?”

She threw her hands up in exasperation. “How should I know, I’m not magic.” Glimmer rolled her eyes and stepped towards the center of the room. “Everyone stand back.”

“Uh, maybe you should take it easy.”, Bow interjected, “We don’t know how long it’ll be till you can recharge your powers.”

The Horde Scum let out a laugh. “You have to recharge your powers?”

“Can we not talk about this right now?”, she grumbled, “Now stand back.”

She focused her energy into the palms of her hands. When she felt enough build up, she threw her magic into the air. It burst into a large ball of light, illuminating the room.

She stumbled over, Bow quick to catch her. Her eyes scanned the room. All it had were more doors that led to even more hallways and a mural on the wall.

“Oh hey.”, Bow elbowed Catra and pointed to the mural, “That looks like you.” “That doesn’t look anything like me.” “No, the other you that glowed.”

It did indeed look like her, though the mural had a red cape and wings on the crown.

Bow elbowed Catra again. “You can read that inscription, right?” She leaned forward and squinted at it.

“It says...She-ra.”

Just like that, the building came to life, the room flooding with light. A hologram appeared, causing them to jump back.

“ _What is your query?_ ”

“What is that thing?”, Catra asked, leaning away. “I think it’s some sort of ancient hologram.”, Bow answered. He walked up to it. “Uh...Hi. What is this place?”

The hologram didn’t reply. “How do we get out of here?”. More silence, then, “ _What is your query?_ ”

“Welp, she’s broken.” “She’s old.”, Glimmer said, stepping up to it as well, “I’m surprised anything in this place still works.”

The hologram flashed red and spoke. “ _Administrator not detected. Lockdown initiated._ ”

“I didn’t do it!”, Glimmer immediately defended.

The lights went red, alarms blaring and the doors slamming closed. The building started shaking and debris fell from the ceiling.

“No no no, no lockdown. No lockdown.”, Bow pleaded, “Catra, get it to stop.” “What makes you think I know how?!”, she demanded. “There’s gotta be a password or something, just try!”

“Uh, Eternia? She-ra! Just stop it!” The room kept crumbling.

An idea flashed in Catra’s eyes. “Give me the sword.” “ _What?!_ ”, Glimmer replied incredulously, holding the object further away. “We need the glowy lady, she’s obviously the key to this place, so give me the fucking sword!”

Glimmer looked between the sword and the crumbling room. She came to a decision. “You’re a Horde soldier, I’m _not_ giving it to you.”

Instead, she grabbed the two and held them close. “Hang on.” “Wait, no--”

Before Bow could protest further, they were falling through the air. She only felt it for a second and then passed out.

She woke up what felt like a moment later. She sat up and Bow practically teleported to her side. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah.”, she replied, still a bit out of breath from the magic and panic, “I’m fine.” He helped her up and she was surprised to see the Horde soldier standing off to the side. 

“What are you still doing here?” Catra jerked up at the question, caught off guard. “Uh, what do you mean?” “Bow and I are hardly a crack security team. You could’ve left at any time. Why didn’t you?”

That was the question of the day, wasn’t it? Why the fuck was she still here? She could’ve left them to die with the bug monster and gone home with her prize. Maybe even earlier than that.

And yet she went back to save them and stuck around to wait for Sparkles to wake up. She could leave right at that second and yet...she didn’t want to. She wanted to keep going, to see where this all went.

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t know.”, she replied honestly.

The two got an odd look on their faces at that. Sparkle’s expression morphed back to being serious. “Come on. We’ve still got a long walk to Bright Moon.”

They weren’t great at hiding their shock of her following.

By the time they reached a village, the sun had fully risen. Definitely too late to go back to the Fright Zone without Shadow Weaver skinning her alive. She’d figure something out whenever she decided to ditch Arrow and Sparkles.

“Ok, belt comes off.”, Sparkles told her when they stopped at the edge of the town. “What, why?”, Catra demanded.

“If the people know you’re a Horde soldier, they’ll freak out. So the belt comes off.” She sighed, unclipping the badge-thing instead. “Better?”

With an affirming nod from Sparkles, they set off into the town.

It wasn’t what she was expecting. People were setting up stands with stuff that smelled _really_ good, others putting out tables, and most decorating their homes.

“Wow, if this is what everyone in Bright Moon does every morning, then that explains a lot.”, she commented.

“Well, they don’t do it _every_ morning.”, Arrow corrected, “Just for festivals.” “For what?” “You know like a big party.”

Catra looked at him blankly. “You don’t have parties in the Fright Zone?”, he lamented in disbelief.

“Did you not hear me?”, Sparkles interrupted, “I said in and out!”

“But she’s never been to a party before, this is serious!” Before Catra knew it, she was being dragged around town.

The streets were dotted with dancers, music filling the air. Kids weaved through the forming crowds, laughing as they chased each other.

She got to eat some of the delicious smelling stuff, was bombarded by several kids, and was honestly...enjoying it. She was able to forget about the Horde, and if she’d ever see Adora, if only for a little bit.

All those thoughts resurfaced when she heard explosions.

The group rushed for the noise, the atmosphere shifting as they arrived on the scene. “It’s the Horde!”, Sparkles yelled the obvious.

Another explosion went off and they ducked into a building. “Why are they here? The people of Thaymor aren’t a threat.” Catra’s eyes widened at Bow’s words.

“ _This_ is Thaymor?”, she questioned. That couldn’t be right. It was just a small town, there was no advantage of taking it.

Glimmer marched up to her. “Do you know something about this?”

“No! Well, yes, my friend is leading it, but she wouldn’t do it if she knew what was really happening.” She started for the door. “I need to find her, if I tell her what’s going on, she’s sure to stop.”

She ran out onto the battlefield, searching the smoke for the signature poof of hair. People were crying out, tanks were rolling in, and smoke filled the sky. She didn’t understand, what was the point of attacking this place--

“Catra?”

She turned to the voice. Upon seeing the other, they didn’t waste a moment in closing the gap, holding each other in their arms.

“Oh Catra, I thought I lost you!”, Adora exclaimed, “You were gone when I woke up and no one knew where you were and I had to prepare for the invasion of Thaymor so I didn’t get a chance to look for you and--”

“Hey, Adora, it’s ok.”, she cut off the ramble, “I’m here now and everything is fine.”

Then she remembered the scene around them and her face turned serious. “You need to call off the invasion.”

Adora stepped back. “What?” “There’s no rebel fortress, it’s just a town.”

She only stepped back further. “No, no, that can’t be right. The fortress is hidden, we’re _liberating_ it--”

“You’re _destroying_ it!”, Catra yelled, gesturing to the damage surrounding them, “Please, just call it off. You don’t want to do this, I know you’re not a bad person.”

“The Horde would never lie to us!” “Of course they would! Shadow Weaver’s been in your head for years and you’re too stupid to see it!”

Adora’s eyes flicked around frantically, searching for something, anything, to argue with. Her eyes landed on Catra, skepticism starting to seep in. “Why are you in Thaymor?” “What?”

A hand reached for her stun baton. “They did something to you, didn’t they? The Rebellion kidnapped you last night and brainwashed you.” “Adora, wait--”

Electricity coursed through her body and she crumpled to the ground.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be alright.”, she soothed, “We’ll take you back home, and Shadow Weaver can fix whatever those _monsters_ did to you--”

She was cut off by a fist full of sparkles.

Catra strained herself up, watching an arrow whiz over head. It hit Adora, exploding into a net. She didn’t see the rest of the fight because Sparkles grabbed her and teleported away.

She fell back on the ground, disoriented. “Give a little warning next time, will you?”, she snarked. She looked up to see Glimmer sitting up against a house.

“We need you.”, she gasped out, “We need She-ra.” She unlooped the sword from her back and held it out to her. “I should’ve given this to you in the ruins, but I was stupid, and a jerk, and I’m _sorry--_ ”

“Woah hey calm down.”, she cut off, “You weren’t _that_ much of a jerk. Well, compared to other people.” She looked down at the sword being offered to her. “How do you know you can trust me?”

“I don’t. But I hope I can.”

Hope. People had always said they’d hoped she could do better. Adora, Shadow Weaver, all the force captains who trained them over the years. Adora was probably the only one who meant it. Glimmer didn’t know anything about her, and yet she still held hope in her. Not to improve, but that she was already good enough.

She took the weapon, gripping it tight. Maybe, just this once, she _could_ be better.

She whispered the nonsensical words burned in her mind, “For the Honor of Grayskull.”

After that was a blur of magic and an eerie calm. Her body seemed to move on its own, swiftly cutting through tanks and chasing off soldiers.

Screams pierced through the serene silence, causing her to stumble. Just like that, the feeling shattered. She collapsed into the dirt as her transformation faded away.

She lifted her head up and in the smoke she met a pair of terrified, blue eyes.

“Adora?”, she tried to call out, but it only came out as a raspy whisper.

Adora backed up in fear, fumbling for her comm. “Retreat to the nearest outpost.”, she spoke into it. With one last look at Catra, she disappeared.

She let out a noise of surprise when Sparkles latched onto her side. “You did it!”, she exclaimed, “You saved us. You saved everyone.”

Catra laughed breathlessly. “Yeah, I went against the Horde.” Realization struck her. “Oh fuck, I went against the Horde! They’ll kill me if I get caught, what am I supposed to do---”

“Hey hey, it’s ok.”, Sparkles interrupted, “You’re with us now.” She stood up and held out a hand. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

With a bit of hesitation, she took it. A foolish, childish, _hopeful_ part of her mind wondered if this would be a new beginning.

  
  



	3. Hey Mom I Found a Magical Girl in the Woods, Can I Keep Her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angella: I just-I have no words  
> Glimmer: Despite having no words, she proceeded to yell at me for the next 25 mins
> 
> Also I stole a line and some aspects from You Came Back (For Me?) by genVicron
> 
> WARNING: Implied child abuse and maybe a panic attack? I'm not sure if it's a panic attack but it might be so

“Welcome to Bright Moon.” At Sparkles’ words, Catra looked up. Built into the cliffside was a castle, shining in the late morning light.

Sparkles turned to Arrow. “You should probably take Catra the back way while I deal with my mom.”

“What’s the back way?”, she asked.

Next thing she knew, she was climbing up a shear wall. “ _ This _ is the back way?” “I know it’s not the safest, but it’s the only one Queen Angella hasn’t found. I think.”, Arrow replied as he pulled her up.

She landed in the room and looked around. It seemed a bit like the personal room Force Captains got. It was probably Sparkles’.

It wasn’t till she was actually inside that the events of the past few hours caught up to her.

She had left the Horde. She’d fantasized about leaving before. No boring routine, no competition, no Shadow Weaver.

Every time she thought about it, she had imagined Adora being with her, just making their own life together. Never had it crossed her mind to join the rebellion.

Or that Adora would choose the Horde over her.

The sound of Arrow opening and closing the door every second was getting annoying. “Ok, I get it, Bright Moon isn’t gonna be a big fan of me. But can you stop doing that?”

Arrow sighed and stepped away from the door. “Sorry, it’s just that if people found out there was a Horde soldier in Bright Moon, they’d all freak out.”

If he was going to say anything else, it was cut off by Sparkles appearing between them. “I’m here! So my mom’s on her way, but no one panic.”

She turned to Catra. “Don’t worry, she’ll love you. All you have to do is transform into She-ra before she gets here.”

“Wait, we’re jumping straight to She-ra?”, Arrow interjected.  “Yeah, I’m with Arrow boy.”, Catra added, “Lying doesn’t seem like a great idea.” “Well, we’re not  _ lying _ .”, Sparkles argued, “Just not telling her everything till later.”

Catra face palmed.

“Hey, you’re gonna do great.”, Sparkles encouraged, “Bow and I will buy you a bit of time. Just hang out here and think She-ra thoughts.”

She grabbed Arrow. “I believe in you!” With that, they teleported away.

Catra sighed. There was no way she was going with this plan.

She could probably just leave. Run off to the farthest corner of Etheria, forget about the Horde, the Rebellion, the war.

Forget about Adora.

She sighed again and looked down at the sword. It felt good in her grip, knowing that it was  _ hers _ . That it made her worth something.

Worth something to the rebellion at least. But still, it felt good having that magic underneath her skin. Like she could do anything.

She got up and left the room, leaning up against the door. She didn’t have anything Horde identifiable on her so she probably wouldn’t get in too much trouble if she got caught.

It sounded like Arrow and Sparkles were coming back, a third person who was probably the queen with them.

“Bow, can you make sure that our surprise is ready for us?”, she heard Sparkles ask.

A second later, Arrow rounded the corner, obviously shocked that she was standing in the hall and not transformed. “What are you doing?”, he said in a barely contained whisper.

“I told you, I’m not lying.”, she hissed back, “Lying to authority never works out.” They’d always catch you.

Arrow sighed, apparently learning quickly that he wasn’t going to sway her. He turned back around the corner and told them that she was ready.

The queen was much taller than expected. Catra stood there, waiting for some kind of address.

“Who is this?”, the queen asked Sparkles. Sparkles went to stand beside Catra.

“Mom, this is Catra. Who is not going with the plan we agreed on.”, she grit out the last part. “Your plan was stupid.”, she replied bluntly.

Sparkles continued. “She was a Horde soldier--”

“A  _ Horde soldier _ ?” Catra stiffened at the queen’s yell, but the anger wasn’t towards her. It was towards Glimmer.

“You brought a Horde soldier into Bright Moon without telling me?” “Wait let me explain--” “How could you possibly think this was acceptable?”

Catra took a step back, fear spiking through her chest. She knew what this would lead to. The queen was probably even more powerful than Shadow Weaver, how much could she--

Bow put a hand on her shoulder. “Are you ok?”

She couldn’t answer. She couldn’t breath. She should’ve known the rebellion would be no better than the Horde. Just because they were fighting each other didn’t mean one was good and one was bad.

She gripped the sword tighter. The running away plan sounded very good right now.

“Will you please just listen to me?”, Glimmer shouted over her mother, “I’m  _ trying _ to explain.”

The queen gave an irate sigh. “Why have you brought an enemy into Bright Moon?”

Glimmer proceeded to tell the tale Catra still couldn’t quite believe, Bow adding his own confirmation. When she was finished, the queen faced Catra. “Is this true?”, she asked.

“I--Yes.”, Catra replied, almost forgetting words.

The queen looked at the sword still clutched close to her. “I’ve heard the legends of the warrior She-ra. It was said she’d return to us in the hour of our greatest need. I never thought she was anything more than a myth.”

She met Catra’s eyes. “Would you pledge to go against those you once served?”

She straightened and nodded. She didn’t have many other places to go.

“Then the Rebellion accepts your allegiance, She-ra, Princess of Power.”

Sparkles squealed and teleported over to her. “Welcome to Bright Moon!”

And then they kept on moving with the day. Like nothing even happened. The two showed her around the castle as if nothing was wrong.

Arrow broke off at one point, leaving Sparkles to lead Catra to her room.

“What’s going to happen to you?”, she asked. Glimmer looked over to her, confused. “What do you mean?” “You went behind the queen’s back and brought in a Horde soldier, what’s she going to do to you?”

In response, she simply waved her hand. “Oh you know, I’ll be grounded for a month like usual.” “Is that getting buried till you learn your lesson?” “No! I just won’t be able to leave the castle grounds without permission. It sucks.”

Catra frowned at that. It hardly seemed like a punishment. Maybe Bright Moon would be better than the Fright Zone…

Or maybe Glimmer was lying. Catra wasn’t willing to find out herself.

They arrived at her room, a pair of guards standing by the door. Sparkles paid them no mind as they entered a huge space.

“It’s pretty standard.”, Sparkles said casually, showing her all the crazy things in the room.

“I’m right down the hall if you need anything.”, she finished and then teleported away.

This was so much different from the Fright Zone.

Which was probably why she struggled so much to sleep.

She was used to the ambient noise of bots, people on the night shift mumbling, and Adora’s breathing. The only thing she had here was the trickling waterfall and the guards shifting outside her room.

With a grumble, she rolled out of bed and walked over to the window. Balancing on the sill, she jumped out, catching the edge of a hallway window. She repeated this till she felt she was far enough from her room, and climbed out into the hall.

Despite the inordinate amount of empty space, she didn’t notice the queen until she bumped into her.

Her first instinct was to salute, but she quickly traded it for a bow she’d seen some of the guards do. “Sorry, your majesty.”

“No no, you’re alright.”, she simply waved off, not even questioning Catra before going back to looking at the mural. “Who’s that?”, she asked, deciding to push her luck.

“King Micah. My husband.”, the queen answered, “He built the Rebellion with me. He died by the Horde many years ago.” “Oh.”

Catra didn’t know this man, nor the queen. She had no reason to feel bad. So why did she? If being a good guy came with emotions, she really hated being one.

The queen turned to her. “Glimmer believes you can help us. I love my daughter dearly, so I am willing to give you a chance. I ask you not to disappoint her.”

With that, she walked away, leaving Catra alone.

With Shadow Weaver, Catra knew exactly what made her angry. And what kind of punishment would follow. The queen was completely new ground. She’d have to learn quickly.

Glimmer started her day with screaming.

Catra, instead of giving her an answer as to why the fuck she had been sleeping in her room, back flipped off the bed and stiffly walked out the door.

A beautiful morning.

The Rebellion meeting was pretty much first thing, and Glimmer led Catra to the room.  “That’s a lot of chairs.”, Catra commented. “They were for the other princesses.”, she explained, “But you know, the alliance fell apart and all.”

She took one of the chairs and Catra sat next to her. “How big  _ is _ the Rebellion?”

“Well, there’s me, my mom, Bow, Bright Moon’s army, Spinerella and Netossa, and now you.” “That’s not much…”

Their conversation was cut off by her mom entering and taking her place. The meeting started, consisting of a report from General Juliet of a blockade on Plumeria.

Glimmer suggested fighting them off, but apparently her mom liked any plan that wasn’t hers and agreed to Catra’s idea of sending their trio to deliver supplies.

At noon they set off for Plumeria. The closer they got, the more lifeless the foliage was. Despite that, there was plenty of pollen in the air.

“That’s your sneeze?”, Bow exclaimed at Catra’s action. “What? It’s a normal sneeze.” “It’s so cute!” “No it’s not!”

She sneezed again. “Aaww.” “I’m gonna turn all your crop tops into regular shirts.” Bow gasped, seeming genuinely hurt by that.

“Guys, focus.”, Glimmer called back, “We’re almost in Plumeria and we still haven’t seen any sign of the Horde.” “Would that be a sign?”

She looked to where Bow was pointing to see a plume of smoke rising above the trees. “Yeah that’s probably it.”, Catra confirmed, “There’s only one though…”

“You’re here!” They turned to see Princess Perfuma gliding towards them. Her introduction included getting flower crowns. Catra seemed a bit freaked out from having a  [ flower on her head ](https://youtu.be/IuysY1BekOE) .

While she was having her crisis, Glimmer spoke. “We’ve come to help with the Horde blockade. We brought food and supplies for you.”

“We appreciate your help very much.”, Perfuma replied, “Come with me, I’ll show you around.”

They passed out supplies during the tour, Perfuma pointing out each special place. Glimmer’s eyes kept flicking towards the smoke trail.

“And this is the Heart Blossom. The center of our kingdom and the source of my magical powers.” Glimmer looked up at the tree. And up. It was huge, its pink leaves painting the sky.

“At least the tree is fine.”, Bow commented, “What happened to everything else?” Perfuma’s smile became strained. “We’re going through a bit of a rough patch, but I’m sure the universe will right itself soon.”

“Everything is dead or dying.” “Look, the blight hit right after the Horde showed up.”, her smile dropped as she explained, “We don’t know why or how, and nothing I do stops it.”

She shook herself, putting back on the bright exterior. “But we don’t dwell on the negatives. The Heart Blossom is still healthy and that’s what matters.”

“So what’s your plan then?” Perfuma turned to Catra. “Hm?” “You know, to fight the Horde? That’s right on your doorstep?”

“Plumeria is a peaceful kingdom, our people aren’t fighters. We have to trust that the universe will balance itself and repay the Horde for what it’s done.” “Why wait for the universe when you can just do it yourselves?”

Catra didn’t give her a chance to reply and stalked off. Glimmer and Bow stuck by Perfuma a bit longer and finished handing out supplies.

They started to make preparations to head back to Bright Moon. Catra didn’t return.

She teleported around, calling out. “Catra! We’re going back to Bright Moon soon, where--” She was cut off by a blur tackling her to the ground.

She thrashed around before a familiar voice hissed. “Sparkles calm down, it’s me.”

“What the hell, Catra!?”, she demanded, though it was muffled by said girl’s hand. She shushed her and pointed out beyond the edge of the woods that Glimmer hadn’t even realized she’d arrived at.

A horde camp wasn’t very far.

“I don’t think they can hear us from here.”, she reasoned, but kept her voice low. Catra let off her hold and scaled a tree. Glimmer teleported next to her.

“Is this a part of the blockade?” “There isn’t a blockade.”

Glimmer sent her a confused look. “This is the only camp around here.”, Catra elaborated, “And there aren’t any patrols keeping people from moving in or out.” “Then what are they up to?” “I think they’re trying to drive the people out. And if they do that…”

“They’ll have control of a runestone.”, Glimmer finished, horrified, “We have to do something.” She made a move forward, but Catra pulled her back. “Didn’t Queen Angella specifically tell us  _ not _ to fight the horde?”

“We can’t just sit here and do nothing!” Catra sighed and mumbled something. “I’m not going to convince you otherwise, am I?” “Nope!”

“Fine.” Her eyes flicked over the base again and she pointed to the building smoke was pouring out of. “That one’s probably important. Think you can get us inside?”

She answered that by grabbing her and teleporting them to the building that was thankfully empty of people.

It did, however, have a large machine pumping a substance into the ground. Catra trailed her hand over it. “This must be what’s killing the plants.” “So what do we do with it?”

Catra turned to her with a feral grin. “Tear it to shreds.”

“What did you do?”, Bow shouted, having found Glimmer and Catra amongst the chaos. He wasn’t sure if the fires were because of them or Perfuma.

“In my defense, I was left unsupervised.”, Glimmer said. “You were with Catra!” “In my defense, I was also left unsupervised.”, she piped in.

“So what made Flower Power change her mind?” “I actually don’t know.”

Bow shot the guy coming up behind him, pinning them to a wall. Glimmer punched back the one going for his left. Then she perked up. “There’s something you should look at.” She grabbed him and teleported him into a building with a broken down machine.

“This is what’s been killing all the plants.”, Glimmer explained, “Catra and I shut it off, but we don’t know how to reverse it. Think you can figure something out?”

He shrugged. “I can try.” “Great.” With that, she teleported away to join back into the fight. As he examined the machine, the sounds outside died down. Soon Glimmer, Perfuma, and She-ra entered. “Anything?”, Glimmer asked.

He shook his head. “I don’t think it’s reversible. Not with the machine, anyway. There might be an antidote, but I doubt the Horde has it here.”

Glimmer turned to Perfuma. “What about you? You have a connection to all the plants, so maybe now that you’re at the source you could heal them.” “I might, but…”, she looked up at Catra, “The stories say that the She-ra could heal. Could you do that?”

“I don’t know how to heal.”, she replied. “Just because you don’t know how, doesn’t mean you don’t have the ability to.” Perfuma led her over the machine, them both crouching down. She placed a hand on the ground and Catra followed.

“Do you feel anything?” “...No.” “Look deeper. Magic is in everything, you need to let it flow with your own.”

Bow would never understand magic stuff. Not even after being friends with Glimmer for years. So it was always a bit odd seeing this from an outside point of view.

Then they both started to glow. She-ra especially, her hair flowing in an invisible wind and both her eyes turning gold as they had been in Thaymor.

A wave of magic was sent out and he could  _ feel _ it. Glimmer gasped beside him, her eyes sparkling slightly. They rushed out the building to see the place bursting with life. The swell of magic died down and they turned to look at the other princesses.

Perfuma looked rejuvenated while Catra was exhausted, her transformation having faded away. “Thank you so much.”, Perfuma addressed the three of them, “How can I ever repay you?”

“Join the Rebellion and help me reform the Princess Alliance.”, Glimmer immediately jumped to suggest. “Um, are you sure? Didn’t that go horribly the first time?” “It went horribly for our parents, but we have a chance to do it right. You and She-ra were able to heal an entire kingdom! Think of what we could do if we were  _ all _ united.”

Perfuma thought for a moment. “Would I get to hit more people with flowers?” “Absolutely.” “Then you have a deal!” She ran out to the middle of the camp and yelled, “Hey everyone, look at us! We’re mighty rebels now!” The people’s cheers followed.

Well, that went much better than expected. Even if the queen did ground them all. But that just gave him and Glimmer a great idea.

The sun had set by the time they got back to Bright Moon and given the report on Plumeria. Catra had been preparing herself for whatever punishment would come with disobeying orders, but they were all just grounded.

Maybe the queen was being lenient since they made progress on their mission.

Now all she wanted to do was sleep. Whatever she’d done in Plumeria drained her almost completely. She walked up to her strangely unguarded door and could hear Arrow and Sparkles talking on the other side. 

“Hey, there aren’t any guards--”, she started as she walked in, and then paused, “What are you doing?”

“We’re having a sleepover!”, Arrow cheered, “And Glimmer convinced her mom to call off the guards.” “Not like they were stopping you, anyway.”, she piped in, “Since I found you sleeping in my room this morning.”

Catra felt her cheeks heat up and looked away. She’d been banking on the hope she’d wake up before Glimmer and it had failed.

She sat down on the floor with them and Arrow immediately gathered them both in a hug. “Best Friend Squad!” “Nope, no, absolutely not.”

She was just in the Rebellion because she had nowhere else to go. She’d never call these two her friends.

Catra fell asleep within the hour, laying on the floor in an extra sleeping bag they’d grabbed because the bed was “unnecessarily soft” . Bow and Glimmer laid in their own sleeping bags, having gone quiet a while ago.

“Do you think she doesn’t like sleeping alone?”, Glimmer whispered out of the blue. Bow looked over to her and she continued. “I mean, I don’t know how the Horde works, but it probably has a lot more people than Bright Moon.”

Bow hummed in response. “Well, if she doesn’t like being alone, we’ll always be with her. The Best Friend Squad’s gotta stick together.”

It’s what friends do.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shit but whatever
> 
> Don't expect another one soon, I do have the next chapter written out but I'm not all that happy with it so it'll probably be a few weeks


End file.
